Research and analysis

Review of differential absorption LiDAR flare emission and performance data

This project reviewed data on how well waste industrial gases are broken down by burning in flares.

Documents

Review of differential absorption LiDAR flare emission and performance data: report

Details

This project reviewed data on how well waste industrial gases are broken down by burning in flares. Flares use flames to burn flammable waste gases under controlled conditions. Different types of flare include enclosed flares, for example inside a chimney, and open flares that are visible at the end of a pipe.

The Environment Agency uses data on the combustion performance of different types of flare to regulate flares at industrial sites. However, information on the effectiveness of flares is limited. For this project the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) reviewed its database of industrial gas emission measurements, made using a particular LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) remote sensing technique known as DIAL (Differential Absorption LiDAR). The database was specifically checked for additional information on the effectiveness of flares in breaking down gases.

Updates to this page

Published 22 October 2019

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